Seal



May 29 1945 t J. M. GERRARD 2,377,224

SEAL

Filed Sept. 9, 1943 jizz/@Zafon Y JM 'errar:

JZL/9 20a-74 lPatented May 29, 1945 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE SEAL John M. Gerrard, Chicago, I-ll.

Application September 9, 1 943, Serial No. 501,606

6 Claims.

n for this purpose, which, however, require deformation thereof as well as deformation of the ends of the band in order to securely fasten the ends thereof.

a sealing device is employed to fasten the seal to one end of the band but asv these devices have i nothing to do with the present invention they One of the objects of this invention is the provision of a seal capable of use in connection with a metallic band or with a non-metallic band such, for instance'asa band made of fibrous materials or cloth which, I have found, are tough and have great tensile strength comparable with that of metallic bands of the same size.

Another object is the provision of a seal for fastening the ends of a band which can be ap` plied to the ends of the band without deforming the same.

Another object is the provision of a sealwhich can be easily and readily applied tol and fastened ,upon the endsV of a band without any danger of slippage of the loose ends of the band through the seal.

Other objects and advantages will appear in the course of this specificationl and with said objects and advantages in view this invention` consists in the several novel features hereinafter fully set forth and claimed.

The invention is clearly illustrated in the drawing accompanying this specification in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of the invention applied to the'ends of a band;

Fig. ,2 is a perspective view of the seal as it acter Ill designates fragments of a ilat band adapted to be wrapped around a container, crate, package, box or other object with its ends fastened together by a seal II constructed in accordance with the present invention. One end I2 ofthe band is looped around an anchoring member of the seal and over an adjacent bar thereof and underlies a contiguous portion of the band. The otherend I3 of the band is looped' around a second anchoring member of the seal and-is fastened thereto by bendable members of the seal aswill behereinafterjdescribed. As is well understood, a band tensioningudeviceA is employed to-tig-hten the band around the object and are neither shown nor described.

`The sealv Il desirably is struck up by suitable dies from sheet metal of suitable gauge and comprises a plate I 4 of generally rectangular form having transversely extending. slots I5, I6 and I'I spaced apart by transverse bars I8, I9, 20, 2l and 22. ing members of the seal. The slot vI5 is open at one end as shown at 23 to facilitate the insertion of the loose end I2c of the band around the anchoringmember I9. The other slots IS-I'l are closed at their ends by the tw'o sides of the seal. The anchoring member I9 is offset downwardly slightly whereby the loop I2a is pressed tightly upon the object upon which the band is used, and also to provide a reverse bend I2b in the loose end I2c of the loop; at the place where said end passes from the bar i9 to the bar I8, whereby to insure a nonslipping connection. between said loose end of the4 band with the, seal. At this end of theband the loose end I2C underlies the contiguous portionv of the band and is positively kept fromV sliding through the seal.

The anchoring member 2l! is `offset upwardly to,receve the looped end I-3a of the other end I3 ofthe band and if desired the bar 2l may :alsojbe offset upwardly slightly. as seen in Fig. 4, although the offsetting of this bar 2| is not essential to'thisinvention broadly considered.

The offset ends 20a of the anchoring member 2U are made somewhat wider than the bar part of said anchoring member to provide ears 2do that project slightly beyond the looped end of the band whereby `to protect the same against the action of the sealing tool which. has a jaw that engages the ears `2lJb when fastening the seal to the end I3 of the band. These projecting -ears protect the end of the loop against injury rthat might be caused by the jaw of the tool pressing against said bend.

In use the loose end I3c of theband is inserted over the bars 22-2I and under and back over the anchoring member 20 so as to lie between tongues 24 after which said tongues are clinched down upon the loose end of .the band,

The slot I'l is formed by striking up the two oppositely disposed tongues 24 from the metal betweenthe bars 2 I-22; these tongues, prior to the application of the seal to the band project upwardly from the opposite ends of the slot Il and in approximate alignment with the offset ends 2da of the anchoring member 28. It is to be observed that the lengths of the slots I'S--I'I and the distance between the upright tongues 24 and between the offset ends `20a is a trifle greater than insertion of the band into the seal. 1

The bars I9 and 20 comprise the anchor` In applying a bandand seal to an object, the band is passed around the object and is drawn tightly therearound by a suitable band tightener as is well understood. The loose end I2c has been previously threaded downwardly through the slot` IS and then inserted laterally through the open end of slot l5 and is tucked over the bar lil so as to lie between the contiguous part of the band and the object.

When the band has been drawn tightly around the object the end I3 of the band is severed from the part usually remaining on the reel and is threaded over the bars 22-2l and underneath the anchoring member 2U and then folded back over the same so as to overlie the contiguous part of the band. The sealing tool is then applied to the seal and the tongues 34 are clinched down upon the loose end I 3c, thereby bringing said loose end and the underlying contiguous part of the band into frictional engagement and kinking the loos-e end and underlying part of the band as seen at i3d in Fig. 4, to positively prevent slippage of the loose end through the seal.

While the seal has been' shown of generally flat form it may be curved longitudinally whereby to fasten a band upon a round object.

Having thus described my invention, it is obvious that various immaterial modifications may be made in the same without departing from the spiritof my invention; hence I do not wish to be understood as limiting myself to the exact form, construction, arrangement and combination of parts herein shown and described, or uses mentioned. l K

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A seal for fastening the ends of the band around an object comprising a generally rectangular metal plate having a band anchoring member offset downwardly with respect t0 the general plane of the plate, there being a slot at each side of said anchoring member and a cooperating member at one end of the plate, disposed at the side of one of the slots, said anchoring member being adapted to receive the bend of a looped end of a band extending through saidk slot between the anchoring and cooperating members in a reverse bend andunderlying a contiguous part of the band, a second anchoring member located approximately at the middle of the plate, around which a loop on the other end of the band extends, and vtongue means disposed between said second named anchoring member and the adjacent end of the plate adapted to be clinched down upon the second named loop. v

2. A seal ior fastening the ends of the band around an object comprising a'ge'nerally rectangular metal plate having a band anchoring member odset downwardly with respect to the general plane of the plate, there being a slot at each side of said anchoring member and a cooperating member at one end of the plate, disposed at the side of one of the slots, said anchoring member being adapted to receive the bend of a looped end of a band extending through' said slot between the anchoring and cooperating members in a reverse bend and underlying a contiguous part of the band, an upwardly offset second anchoring member located approximately midway between the ends of the plate, around which a loop on the other end of the band extends, and tongue means disposed between said second named anchoring member and the adjacent end of the plate, adapted to be clinched down upon the second named loop.

3. A seal for fastening the ends of a band around an object comprising a generally rectangular metal plate having a band anchoring member offset downwardly with respect to the general plane of the plate, there being a slot at each side of said anchoring member and a cooperating member at one end of the plate, disposed at the side of one of the slots, said anchoring member being adapted to receive the bend of a looped end of a band extending through said slot between the anchoring and cooperating members in a reverse bend and underlying a contiguous part of the band, and an upwardly offset second anchoring member around which a loop on the other end oi the band extends, a pair of spaced apart bars adjacent said second named anchoring member, and oppositely positioned tongues at the ends of the slot formed between said bars and adapted to be clinched down upon the loose end and underlying end of the band.

l. A seal for fastening the ends of a band around an object comprising a generally rectangular plate having a downwardly offset anchoring member and an upwardly oiset anchoring member spaced from the iirst named anchoring member by an intervening slot, a member cooperating with the rst named anchoring member to form a reverse bend in the looped end of a band with the loose end of the loop underlying a contiguous part of the band, and that portion of the plate adjacent the upwardly offset anchoring member having tongue members struck up therefrom and cooperating with the second named anchoring member to fasten a second looped end oi the band to the seal.

5. In a seal for fastening the ends of a band on an object a generally rectangular plate having an anchoring member around which one end of the band is looped, said plate having an upwardly iset anchoring member around which the other end of the band is looped, said offset anchoring member having loop protecting ears that project longitudinally beyond the bar of the upwardly offset anchoring member around which the end ol the band is looped, whereby to protect said loop end from injury when the seal is being applied to a band, and tongues adjacent the oiset anchoring member adapted to be clinched down upon the end of the band which is looped around said second named anchoring member.

6. A seal for fastening the ends of a band around an object comprising a generally rectangular metal plate having a band anchoring member offset downwardly with respect to the general plane of the plate, there being a slot at each side of said anchoring member and a'cooperating member at one side of the slot, said anchoring member being adapted to receive the bend of a loop with the end of a band extending through said slot between the anchoring and cooperating member in a sharp reverse lbend, and underlying a contiguous part of the band, a second anchoring member upwardly odset with respect to the general plane of the plate, around which a loop on the other end of the band extends, an upwardly offset bar extending transversely of the plate adjacent said second named anchoring member over which an end of the band extends and tongues formed in that part of the plate adjacent the second named anchoring member, adapted to be clinched down upon tlie second named loop and being disposedin close proximity to said upwardly offset bar, whereby to bend the two members of thek loop over` the edge of said bar.

JOHN M. GERRARD. 

